Image capture apparatus and control method

ABSTRACT

An image capture apparatus performs control such that when an approaching to a finder is not made, a touch operation with an area that is less than a first threshold on the touch operation surface is validated, and a touch operation with an area that is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surface is invalidated, when the approaching to the finder is made, the touch operation with the area that is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surface is validated even if the touch operation has the area that is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a technique for detecting a touchoperation.

Description of the Related Art

In a device that accepts an input from a user by a touch operation on atouch panel, processing by a touch operation unintended by the user maybe performed in response to detection of an inadvertent touch operationon the touch panel. In order to suppress such a malfunction, a methodhas been proposed in which when the touch area is larger than athreshold, processing by the touch operation is not performed (JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 2016-212805). In addition, a method of operating atouch pad provided at a position different from a display unit (finder)on which a user is viewing when a user performs a touch operation hasbeen proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-089973).

Although the conventional techniques can suppress an operationunintentionally input when carrying a device, an operability maydeteriorate when using the device, such as when shooting with a camera.For example, if the area of the touch input to be invalidated at thetime of the touch pad operation in an eye approaching state as disclosedin Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-089973 is made toosmall, if the touch operation is performed with the touch input having alarge touch area, even if the touch operation is intentionally performedby the user, the touch operation is invalidated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of theaforementioned problems, and realizes techniques that can reduce apossibility of performing processing due to a touch operation unintendedby a user and improve an operability of a device.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides an image capture apparatus comprising: an approach detectionunit configured to detect an approaching to a finder; a touch detectingunit configured to detect a touch operation on a touch operation surfaceprovided outside the finder; and a control unit configured to performcontrol such that when the approaching to the finder is not made, atouch operation with an area that is less than a first threshold on thetouch operation surface is validated, and a touch operation with an areathat is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surfaceis invalidated, and when the approaching to the finder is made, thetouch operation with the area that is not less than the first thresholdon the touch operation surface is validated even if the touch operationhas the area that is not less than the first threshold on the touchoperation surface.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides a method of controlling an image capture apparatus having anapproach detection unit configured to detect an approaching to a finder,and a touch detecting unit configured to detect a touch operation on atouch operation surface provided outside the finder, the methodcomprising: performing control such that when the approaching to thefinder is not made, a touch operation with an area that is less than afirst threshold on the touch operation surface is validated, and a touchoperation with an area that is not less than the first threshold on thetouch operation surface is invalidated, and when the approaching to thefinder is made, the touch operation with the area that is not less thanthe first threshold on the touch operation surface is validated even ifthe touch operation has the area that is not less than the firstthreshold on the touch operation surface.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing aprogram for causing a computer to function as the following units of animage capture apparatus, wherein an approach detection unit isconfigured to detect an approaching to a finder, a touch detecting unitis configured to detect a touch operation on a touch operation surfaceprovided outside the finder, and a control unit is configured to performcontrol such that when the approaching to the finder is not made, atouch operation with an area that is less than a first threshold on thetouch operation surface is validated, and a touch operation with an areathat is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surfaceis invalidated, and when the approaching to the finder is made, thetouch operation with the area that is not less than the first thresholdon the touch operation surface is validated even if the touch operationhas the area that is not less than the first threshold on the touchoperation surface.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce thepossibility of performing processing due to the touch operationunintended by the user and improve the operability of the device.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are external views of a digital camera of a presentembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the digitalcamera of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a touch panelof the present embodiment.

FIGS. 4A1, 4A2, 4B1 and 4B2 are diagrams illustrating calculationprocessing of a touch area of the present embodiment.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating touch detection processingof the first embodiment.

FIGS. 6A1, 6A2, 6B1 and 6B2 are diagrams illustrating a relationshipbetween an eye approaching distance and a touch area of the firstembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an eyeapproaching distance, a touch area and a touch determination thresholdof the first embodiment.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts illustrating touch detection processingof a second embodiment.

FIGS. 9A1, 9B1, 9C1, 9A2, 9B2 and 9C2 are diagrams illustrating arelationship between an eye approaching distance and a touch area of thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an eyeapproaching distance, a touch area and a touch determination thresholdof the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an eyeapproaching distance, a touch area and a touch determination thresholdof the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to benoted that the following exemplary embodiment is merely one example forimplementing the present invention and can be appropriately modified orchanged depending on individual constructions and various conditions ofapparatuses to which the present invention is applied. Thus, the presentinvention is in no way limited to the following exemplary embodiment.Multiple features are described in the embodiments, but limitation isnot made an invention that requires all such features, and multiple suchfeatures may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, in the attacheddrawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similarconfigurations, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

First Embodiment

Hereinafter, embodiments in which an image capture apparatus of thepresent invention is applied to a single-lens reflex digital cameracapable of shooting a still image and/or a moving image will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Apparatus Configuration>

With reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, the configuration and functions ofa digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment will bedescribed.

FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of the digital camera 100 in a statewhere a lens unit 200 is detached. FIG. 1B is a back perspective view ofthe digital camera 100.

In FIGS. 1A and 1B, a backside display unit 101 is an out-of-finderdisplay unit for displaying images and various types of information anda display device such as an LCD provided on the back surface of thecamera body. Moreover, the backside display unit 101 has a function ofreproducing a still image after the still image was shot, a function ofdisplaying a moving image that is being recorded, and a live viewdisplay (through-the-lens display) function as well. A touch panel(touch screen) 270 a is provided on the backside display unit 101. Thetouch panel 270 a is a touch operation member capable of detectingcontact (touch operation) with the display surface (touch operationsurface of the touch panel 270 a) of the backside display unit 101.

An out-of-finder display unit 243 is a display device provided on theupper surface of the camera body, and displays various setting values ofthe camera such as a shutter speed and a diaphragm aperture. Ashutter-release button 102 is an operation member for giving a shootinginstruction. A mode selection switch 103 is a rotating dial typeoperation member for switching between various modes. A terminal cover104 is a cover member for protecting a connector (not illustrated) forconnecting an external device and the digital camera 100 via a cablesuch as a USB cable. A main electronic dial 105 is a rotating operationmember included in operation units 270 that will be described later withreference to FIG. 2, and by rotating this main electronic dial 105,setting values such as a shutter speed and a diaphragm aperture can bechanged.

A power supply switch 106 is an operation member for switching betweenon/off of the power supply to the digital camera 100. A sub electronicdial 107 is a rotating operation member included in the operation units270 that will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, and can movea selected frame, scroll images, and/or the like. A cross key 108 isalso a movement instruction member included in the operation units 270that will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, and is afour-directional operation button having push buttons that can bepressed in four directions of up, down, left, and right. The operationcan be performed according to the portion of the cross key 108 pressedin the pressed direction. A SET button 109 is also a push buttonincluded in the operation units 270 that will be described later withreference to FIG. 2, and is mainly used for determining a selection itemand/or the like.

A lock button 110 is also a push button included in the operation units270 that will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, and inresponse to the button being pressed, it is possible to switch betweensetting/releasing of a lock state in which an operation on the mainelectronic dial 105, the sub electronic dial 107, the touch panel 270 a,the multi controller 115, a control ring (not shown), or the like isvalidated/invalidated.

The control ring is an operation member capable of a rotation operationcentered on an optical axis around a lens barrel of the lens unit 200that will be described later in FIG. 2. When operating the control ring,an electrical pulse signal corresponding to the rotation amount(manipulated variable) is generated, the system control unit 201controls each component of the digital camera 100 based on the pulsesignal. When the function selection button of the control ring ispressed, a menu screen in which the function assigned to the controlring can be changed is displayed on the backside display unit 101. Thecontrol ring is used to select setting items and change values.

An enlargement/reduction button 111 is also a push button included inthe operation units 270 that will be described later in FIG. 2, during alive view display in a shooting mode, and can turn on/off theenlargement mode, change the enlargement ratio in the enlargement mode,and reduce the image by decreasing the enlargement ratio of the enlargedimage. The enlargement/reduction button 111 can enlarge/reduce areproduced image and increase/decrease the enlargement ratio in areproduction mode. The delete button 112 is also a push button includedin the operation units 270 that will be described later with referenceto FIG. 2, and can delete an image file recorded on a recording medium250 in shooting processing described later. A reproduction button 113 isalso an operation member included in the operation units 270 that willbe described later in FIG. 2, and can switch the operation mode of thedigital camera 100 to the shooting mode or the reproduction mode. A menubutton 114 is also a push button included in the operation units 270that will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, and can display amenu screen on the backside display unit 101. A multi-controller 115 isalso included in the operation unit 270 that will be described laterwith reference to FIG. 2, and is an operation member, i.e., an operationbar, which can be slid in the lateral direction, and can assign variousfunctions to the slide operation and the touch operation at both ends.

A grip portion 116 has a shape that makes it easy to be grasped by auser's a right hand when he or she holds the digital camera 100. Theshutter-release button 102 and the main electronic dial 105 are arrangedat positions where the grip portion 116 can be operated by the indexfinger of the right hand while holding the digital camera 100 bygripping the grip portion 116 with the little finger, the ring fingerand the middle finger of the right hand. In the same state, the subelectronic dial 107 is arranged at a position operable with the thumb ofthe right hand. A lid 117 is a member for opening or closing a slot formounting/removing the recording medium 250 to/from the digital camera100.

A communication terminal 210 is an electric contact point for thedigital camera 100 to perform communication with the lens unit 200. Aneyepiece part 216 is a look-through type eyepiece finder. The user canvisually recognize an image displayed on an electronic viewfinder (EVF)which is the in-finder display unit 229 through the eyepiece part 216,and can confirm the focus and composition of the captured object imagethrough the lens unit 200 that will be described later in FIG. 2.

An eye approach detection unit 217 is arranged near the eyepiece part216, and can detect approach of any object to the eyepiece part 216. Asthe eye approach detection unit 217, for example, an infrared proximitysensor is used.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the internal configuration of thedigital camera 100 and the lens unit 200 of the present embodiment willbe described. In FIG. 2, components that are the same as those in FIGS.1A and 1B are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 2, the lens unit 200 is equipped with a shooting lens 207, andis detachable from the digital camera 100. The shooting lens 207 isusually constituted by a plurality of lenses, but is simplified here andis shown by one lens. A communication terminal 206 is an electriccontact point for the lens unit 200 to perform communication with thedigital camera 100. The communication terminal 210 is an electriccontact point for the digital camera 100 to perform communication withthe lens unit 200. The lens unit 200 performs communication with thesystem control unit 201 via the communication terminal 206, and abuilt-in lens control unit 204 controls a diaphragm driving circuit 202so as to drive a diaphragm aperture 205, and controls an AF drivingcircuit 203 so as to displace the position of the shooting lens 207,thereby bringing the object image in focus.

A focal plane shutter 221 can freely control the exposure time of theimage capturing unit 222 in accordance with an instruction from thesystem control unit 201. The image capturing unit 222 is an image sensorconstituted by an imaging element such as a CCD or a CMOS for convertingthe object image into electrical signals. An A/D converter 223 convertsan analog signal output from the image capturing unit 222 into a digitalsignal.

An image processing unit 224 performs resizing processing, such aspredetermined pixel interpolation and reduction, and color conversionprocessing, with respect to data from the A/D converter 223 or data froma memory control unit 215. Further, the image processing unit 224performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured imagedata, and the system control unit 201 performs exposure control andfocus control based on the calculation results. Thus, AF (AutomaticFocus) processing, AE (Automatic Exposure) processing, and EF (flashpre-emission) processing of TTL (Through the Lens) type are performed.Furthermore, the image processing unit 224 performs predeterminedcalculation processing using the captured image data, and AWB (AutomaticWhite Balance) processing of TTL type is performed on the basis of thecalculation results.

A memory control unit 215 controls to exchange data between the A/Dconverter 223, the image processing unit 224, and the memory 232.Digital data output from the A/D converter 223 is directly written intothe memory 232 via both the image processing unit 224 and the memorycontrol unit 215 or via the memory control unit 215. The memory 232stores image data obtained from the image capturing unit 222 and the A/Dconverter 223, and display data for displaying the image on the backsidedisplay unit 101 or the in-finder display unit 229. The memory 232 has astorage capacity that is sufficient for storing a predetermined numberof still images as well as moving images and audio of a predeterminedtime period. The memory 232 also functions as a memory for image display(video memory).

A D/A converter 219 converts the display data for the image stored inthe memory 232 into an analog signal and supplies the backside displayunit 101 or the in-finder display unit 229 with the analog signal. Thedisplay data for the image that was written into the memory 232 isdisplayed by the backside display unit 101 or the in-finder display unit229 via the D/A converter 219. The backside display unit 101 and thein-finder display unit 229 display on the display device in accordancewith the analog signal from the D/A converter 219. In this manner, thedigital signals stored in the memory 232 are converted into analogsignals, and the analog signals are successively transmitted to thebackside display unit 101 or the in-finder display unit 229 so as to bedisplayed thereon, making it possible to function as an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and to perform live view (LV) display (through-the lensimage display).

Various setting values of the camera such as a shutter speed and adiaphragm aperture are displayed on the out-of-finder display unit 243via an out-of-finder display unit driving circuit 244.

A nonvolatile memory 256 is an electrically erasable/recordable memory,and for example, a flash ROM or the like is used. In the nonvolatilememory 256, constants and programs, for example, for operating thesystem control unit 201 are stored. In this context, “programs” mayrefer to programs for executing flowcharts that will be described later.

The system control unit 201 is an arithmetic processing devicecomprising at least one processor or circuit, overall controlling theentire digital camera 100. The system control unit 201 realizes, byexecuting the programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 256, theprocedures of the flowchart that will be described later. As the systemmemory 252, for example, RAM is used, and the system memory 252 is usedalso as a work memory where constants and variables for operating thesystem control unit 201 and the programs read out from the nonvolatilememory 256 are expanded. The system control unit 201 controls the memory232, the D/A converter 219, the backside display unit 101, the in-finderdisplay unit 229, and/or the like, so as to perform display control. Asystem timer 253 is a time measurement unit for measuring time periodsfor various types of controls and the time of an inner clock.

The mode selection switch 103, a first shutter switch 211, a secondshutter switch 212, and the operation units 270 are operation devicesfor inputting various types of operating instructions to the systemcontrol unit 201. The mode selection switch 103 switches the operationmode of the system control unit 201 to any of a still image shootingmode, a moving image recording mode, and a reproduction mode. The stillimage shooting mode includes an automatic shooting mode, an automaticscene determination mode, a manual mode, aperture-priority mode (Avmode), shutter-priority AE mode (Tv mode), and program AE mode (P mode),for example. The still image shooting mode also includes various scenemodes each for which scene-specific shooting setting is made, custommode, and/or the like.

The user may directly switch to any of these shooting modes by operatingthe mode selection switch 103, or may switch to any of the shootingmodes using another operation member after once being switched to a listscreen of the operation modes with the mode selection switch 103 andselecting any of the plurality of shooting modes displayed in a list.Similarly, also the moving image recording mode and the reproductionmode may include a plurality of modes.

While the shutter-release button 102 provided on the digital camera 100is being operated, that is, pressed halfway (the shooting preparationinstruction), the first shutter switch 211 is turned on and generates afirst shutter switch signal SW1. Upon receiving the first shutter switchsignal SW1, the system control unit 201 starts shooting preparationoperations such as AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure)processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flashpre-emission) processing.

When the operation of the shutter-release button 102 is completed, thatis, the shutter-release button 102 is pressed fully (the shootinginstruction), the second shutter switch 212 is turned on and generates asecond shutter switch signal SW2. Upon receiving the second shutterswitch signal SW2, the system control unit 201 starts a series ofshooting processing from reading out the signal from the image capturingunit 222 to writing of the captured image data as an image file to therecording medium 250.

The operation units 270 comprise operation members such as variousswitches and buttons for accepting various operations from a user, andnotifying the system control unit 201 of the accepted operations, andinclude at least the following operation members: the shutter-releasebutton 102, the mode selection switch 103, the main electronic dial 105,the power supply switch 106, the sub electronic dial 107, the cross key108, the SET button 109, the lock button 110, the enlargement/reductionbutton 111, the delete button 112, the reproduction button 113, the menubutton 114, multi-controller 115 and the control ring 271.

A power control unit 280 is constituted by, for example, a batterydetection circuit, a DC-DC converter, and a switch circuit for changingover the block to be supplied with power, and detects whether a batteryhas been inserted or not, the type of the battery, and the residualcapacity thereof. Further, the power control unit 280 controls the DC-DCconverter in accordance with the detection results and an instruction ofthe system control unit 201, and supplies a necessary voltage for anecessary length of time to each component including the recordingmedium 250.

A power supply unit 230 comprises a primary battery such as an alkalinebattery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCdbattery, a NiMH battery, or a Li-ion battery, or an AC adaptor. Arecording medium interface (I/F) 218 is for interfacing with therecording medium 250 such as a memory card or a hard disk drive. Therecording medium 250 is a recording medium such as a memory card forrecording shot images, and is constituted by a semiconductor memory, amagnetic disk, or the like.

A communication unit 254 communicably connects an external device by awireless antenna or a cable, and transmits and receives a video signal,an audio signal, and/or the like. The communication unit 254 can alsoconnect to a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and the Internet. Thecommunication unit 254 can transmit image data (including a live viewimage) captured by the image capturing unit 222 and an image filerecorded on the recording medium 250 to an external device, and canreceive image data or other various information from the externaldevice. Note that the communication unit 254 is not limited to awireless LAN, but may use a wireless communication module such as aninfrared communication, Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low Energy or WirelessUSB, or a wired connection device such as a USB cable, HDMI®, IEEE 1394,or the like.

An attitude detection unit 255 detects the attitude (orientation) of thedigital camera 100 with respect to the gravity direction. Based on theattitude detected by the attitude detection unit 255, it is possible todiscriminate whether an image captured by the image capturing unit 222has been shot by setting the digital camera 100 in the landscape orportrait direction. The system control unit 201 can add informationabout the orientation information corresponding to the attitude detectedby the attitude detection unit 255 to the image file, and rotate andrecord the captured image. An acceleration sensor, gyro sensor or thelike may be used as the attitude detection unit 255. The attitudedetection unit 255 can also detect the movement (pan, tilt, lift, rest,etc.) of the digital camera 100 by using the acceleration sensor or thegyro sensor.

Included among the operation units 270 is also the touch panel 270 athat is capable of detecting a touch operation on the backside displayunit 101. The touch panel 270 a and the backside display unit 101 can beconstructed as a single integrated unit. For example, the touch panel270 a is constructed in such a manner that the transmittance of lightwill not interfere with the display presented by the backside displayunit 101, and it is attached to the uppermost layer of the display faceof the backside display unit 101. In addition, input coordinates on thetouch panel 270 a and display coordinates on the backside display unit101 are correlated. As a result, a GUI can be constructed so as to makeit possible for the user to directly manipulate the screen displayed onthe backside display unit 101. The system control unit 201 is capable ofdetecting the following touch operations and/or conditions performed bycontacting the touch panel 270 a.

Newly touching of the touch panel 270 a by a finger or pen which has notbeen in contact with the touch panel 270 a, that is, a start of thetouch (referred to as “touch-down” below).

A state in which the touch panel 270 a is in contact with a finger orpen (referred to as “touch-on” below).

Movement of a finger or pen while in contact with the touch panel 270 a(referred to as “touch-move” below).

Releasing a finger or pen that has been in contact with the touch panel270 a, that is, an end of the touch (referred to as “touch-up” below).

A state in which the touch panel 270 a is not being touched at all(referred to as “touch-off” below).

When touch-down is detected, the touch-on state is also detected at thesame time.

These operations/conditions and position coordinates at which the touchpanel 270 a is being touched by the finger or pen are communicated tothe system control unit 201 through an internal bus and, based upon theinformation thus communicated, the system control unit 201 determineswhat kind of operation (touch operation) was performed on the touchpanel 270 a.

As for “touch-move”, the determination can be made also for everyvertical component and horizontal component with regard to the directionof movement of the finger or pen, which is moved on the touch panel 270a, based upon a change in the coordinate position. Further, the systemcontrol unit 201 can determine that a slide operation (drag) has beenperformed if it detects a touch-move over a predetermined distance. Anoperation in which a finger is touched against the touch panel, swiftlymoved a certain distance, and then lifted away will be referred to as a“flick”. In other words, a flick is an operation in which a finger isswiftly flicked across the touch panel 270 a. If a touch-move with apredetermined distance or higher and a predetermined speed or higher isdetected, and then a touch-up is detected, it can be determined that aflick has been performed (it can be determined that a flick wasperformed in succession to a drag). Furthermore, a touch operation inwhich the touch panel is touched at multiple locations (for example, twopoints) at the same time, and then the touch positions are moved closerto each other will be referred to as a “pinch-in”, and a touch operationin which the touch positions are moved away from each other will bereferred to as a “pinch-out”. Pinch-out and pinch-in operations will becollectively referred to as “pinch operations” (or simply “pinching”).

The touch panel 270 a may employ a method that relies upon any of thefollowing: resistive film, electrostatic capacitance, surface acousticwaves, infrared radiation, electromagnetic induction, image recognitionand optical sensing. There are methods in which a touch is detectedbased on contact with the touch panel, as well as methods in which atouch is detected based on approach of a finger or a pen to the touchpanel, and any method may be employed.

The digital camera 100 of the present embodiment has a touch and dragfunction that allows the user to move the AF frame (AF, that is, anindicator indicating a focus adjustment position for performing focusadjustment) or change parameters while looking through the finder. Forexample, in the touch and drag AF, by performing the tap or thetouch-move on the touch panel 270 a, it is possible to move the AF framedisplayed on the in-finder display unit 229 to a desired position (aposition of an object of a tracking target or an object of a focusingtarget). When the touch-move operation is performed in an eyeapproaching state, the user can set the method of designating theposition indicator according to the touch-move operation to either anabsolute position designation or a relative position designation. Forexample, if the position indicator is an AF frame, in the case of theabsolute position designation, if there is the touch-down on the touchpanel 270 a, the AF position associated with the touched-down position(the position at which coordinates are input) is set regardless of theAF position (current AF position) set before the touch-down. That is,the position coordinates at which the touch operation is performed andthe position coordinates of the backside display unit 101 are associatedwith each other. On the other hand, in the case of the relative positiondesignation, the position coordinates in which the touch operation isperformed and the position coordinates of the backside display unit 101are not associated with each other. In the relative positiondesignation, the AF position does not move at the time of touch-down. Ifthere is the touch-move after the touch-down is performed, the AFposition is moved in a movement direction of the touch-move from the AFposition (current AF position) set before the touch is performed by onlya distance corresponding to the movement amount of the touch-move,regardless of the touch-down position on the touch panel 270 a.

The eye approach detection unit 217 detects whether an eye (an object)has approached or contacted (eye approaching) or has moved away from(eye detached) the eyepiece part 216 (approach detection). The systemcontrol unit 201 switches the backside display unit 101 and thein-finder display unit 229 between displaying (a display state) and notdisplaying (a non-display state) in accordance with the state detectedby the eye approach detection unit 217. The system control unit 201 setsa display destination as the backside display unit 101 and sets thein-finder display unit 229 to be not displaying during non-eye approachdetection at least in a case where the shooting mode and the switchingof the display destination are automatic. Further, the system controlunit 201 sets the display destination as the in-finder display unit 229and sets the backside display unit 101 to be not displaying during eyeapproach detection.

If an object has approached, infrared light irradiated from a lightemitting unit (not illustrated) of the eye approach detection unit 217is reflected and is made to be incident on a light receiving unit (notillustrated) of the infrared proximity sensor. In accordance with anincident light amount of the infrared light received by the infraredproximity sensor, it is possible to detect an approach of some kind ofphysical object to the eyepiece part 216, and discriminate to what levelof distance the object has gotten close to the eyepiece part 216 (an eyeapproaching distance). Upon detecting an approach of an object to theeyepiece part 216, the system control unit 201 can cause display of thein-finder display unit 229 to start. With this, it is possible for thein-finder display unit 229 to display without delay as much as possiblewhen a user looks through the eyepiece part 216.

In addition, upon detecting that an object has approached within apredetermined distance with respect to the eyepiece part 216 from anon-eye approaching state (no approach state), the eye approachdetection unit 217 determines that eye approaching is detected andtransmits an eye approach detection notification to the system controlunit 201. In addition, if an object for which an approach was detectedis apart by the predetermined distance or more from an eye approachingstate (approach state), the eye approach detection unit 217 determinesthat eye separation is detected, and an eye separation detectionnotification is transmitted to the system control unit 201. A thresholdfor detecting eye approaching and a threshold for detecting eyeseparation may be made different such as by providing hysteresis forexample. In addition, it is assumed that, after eye approaching isdetected, there is an eye approaching state until eye separation isdetected. In addition, it is assumed that, after eye separation isdetected, there is a non-eye approaching state until eye approaching isdetected. With this, the system control unit 201 performs displaycontrol of the backside display unit 101 and the in-finder display unit229 in response to an eye approaching state or an eye separation statedetected by the eye approach detection unit 217.

Note that the eye approach detection unit 217 is not limited to aninfrared proximity sensor, and another sensor may be used if it candetect an approach of an object or an eye to be deemed as eyeapproaching. In the present embodiment, the light projecting portion andthe light receiving portion of the approach detection unit 217 areseparate devices from an infrared light-emission element 266 and a sightline detection sensor 264 of a sight line detection unit 260 that willbe described later, but the light projecting portion of the eye approachdetection unit 217 may also serve as the infrared light-emission element266 and the light receiving portion as the sight line detection sensor264.

The sight-line detection unit 260 includes a dichroic mirror 262, animage forming lens 263, a sight line detection sensor 264, a sight linedetection circuit 265, and an infrared light-emission element 266 whichfollow, and detects whether or not there is a sight line of a user andalso detects movement or a position of the sight line.

The digital camera 100 of the present embodiment detects the sight lineby the sight line detection unit 260 with a method called cornealreflection method. The corneal reflection method is a method ofdetecting a position and an orientation of the sight line from apositional relationship between a reflected light in which the infraredlight emitted from the infrared light-emission element 266 is reflectedby an eye ball (eye) 261 (especially the cornea) and the pupil of theeye ball (eye) 261. In addition, there are various methods for detectingthe position and orientation of the sight line, such as a method calledscleral reflection method, which utilizes the fact that the lightreflectance in the iris is different from that in the white of the eye.Note that other sight line detection methods may be used as long as theycan detect the position and orientation of the sight line.

The infrared light-emission element 266 is a diode for emitting aninfrared light for detecting a sight-line position of a user in a finderscreen, and irradiates the infrared light onto an eye ball (eye) 261 ofa user toward the vicinity of the center of the eyepiece part 216. Theinfrared light irradiated from the infrared light-emission element 266is reflected by the eye ball (eye) 261, and the reflected infrared lightreaches the dichroic mirror 262. The dichroic mirror 262 has a functionfor reflecting only infrared light and allowing visible light to pass,and the reflected infrared light whose light path has been changed formsan image on an image capture plane of the sight line detection sensor264 via the image forming lens 263.

The image forming lens 263 is an optical member that configures a sightline detection optical system. The sight line detection sensor 264includes an image sensor that uses a CCD, CMOS, or the like. The sightline detection sensor 264 photo-electrically converts incident reflectedinfrared light into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signalto the sight line detection circuit 265. Based on the output signal fromthe sight line detection sensor 264, the sight line detection circuit265 detects a sight-line position of a user from a position of a pupilor movement of the eye ball (eye) 261 of the user, and outputs detectedinformation to the system control unit 201. The sight line detectionsensor 264 can detect a pupil of an eye of a person, and thus, even ifanother object approaches or touches the eyepiece part 216, the sightline detection sensor 264 does not detect that a sight line of a personhas been inputted. By this, the eyepiece part 216 has a function as asight line operation unit, but the sight line detection unit may beanother configuration.

The system control unit 201 is capable of determining the followingstates and operations with respect to the eyepiece part 216.

The sight line is not input to the eyepiece part 216/the sight line isnewly input to the eyepiece part 216 (start of sight line input).

Being in the state of ongoing sight line input to the eyepiece part 216.Being in the state where a region of the eyepiece part 216 is beinggazed at.

The sight line input to the eyepiece part 216 has been removed (end ofsight line input).

Being in the state where no sight line is being input to the eyepiecepart 216. These operations/states and an input position of a sight linefor the eyepiece part 216 are notified to the system control unit 201,and the system control unit 201 can determine what kind of operation(sight line operation) has been performed for the eyepiece part 216based on the notified information.

Note that a gaze refers to a case where the sight line position of theuser does not exceed a predetermined movement amount within apredetermined time. That is, the system control unit 201 determines,based on the detection information received from the sight linedetection circuit 265, when the time period in which the sight line ofthe user is fixed in a certain region exceeds a predetermined threshold,that the user is gazing at the region. Therefore, it can be said thatthe region is a gaze position (gaze area) which is a position where thegaze is performed. Note that “the sight line is fixed in the certainregion” means, for example, that the average position of the movement ofthe sight line is within the region until a predetermined time periodelapses, and the variation (variance) is less than a predeterminedvalue.

<Touch Detection Method>

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, the touch detection method of thefirst embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, a threshold of a touch area (square measure)for determining a touch operation on the touch panel 270 a as a touchoperation unintended by the user is set. The threshold of the touch areais set to a different value depending on whether or not the eyeapproaching state in which the user is looking through the finder is. Inthe present embodiment, the threshold is set to one of the threshold 1and the threshold 2 having a value larger than the threshold 1, butthree or more thresholds may be provided. The set threshold is stored inthe nonvolatile memory 256, and is read by the system control unit 201at the time of the eye approach detection by the eye approach detectionunit 217.

Next, a detailed configuration of the touch panel 270 a of the presentembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

In the touch panel sensor 270 b, a plurality of column electrodes (X0 toX8) are arranged in the lateral (horizontal) direction in FIG. 3, aplurality of row electrodes (Y0 to Y4) are arranged in the longitudinal(vertical) direction in FIG. 3, the column electrodes and the rowelectrodes intersect each other. The intersection point A indicates asensor intersection point of the column electrode X7 and the rowelectrode Y2. The row electrodes are connected to a constant currentcircuit (not shown), the column electrode is fixed to a predeterminedpotential. When a weak current is made to flow by a constant currentcircuit (not shown), charges are accumulated in the mutual capacitancegenerated between the column electrode and the row electrode. A sub-scanin which a plurality of times of accumulation per one sensorintersection point is performed and the accumulated charges areintegrated in the integrating circuit. The measurement result of onesensor intersection point (one scan) is converted into a digital signal,and it is possible to determine whether or not the touch detection isperformed by measuring the change amount of the obtained signal value asthe change amount of the capacitance.

A scan line driving circuit 276 is a circuit for sequentially selectingand driving the scan lines. A weak current is passed through theselected scan line by a constant current circuit. The number of times ofsub-scans per scan line can be arbitrarily changed by a command from thesystem control unit 201 to the control circuit 281. A detection signalprocessing circuit 275 is a circuit which sequentially selects the readline and reads the detection signal. The scan line driving circuit 276and the detection signal processing circuit 275 are driven by clocksignal supplied by the control circuit 281.

The control circuit 281 detects whether or not the detection signalvalue of each electrode output by the detection signal processingcircuit 275 exceeds the touch determination threshold, and if itexceeds, sets the touch detection flag to sequentially transfer the datato the touch panel memory 282. When scanning of one frame is completed,grouping of the touch detection regions and calculation of the center ofgravity of the touch position are performed on the detection data of oneframe stored in the touch panel memory 282, and the number of touchdetections, the touch detection coordinates, and the touch arecalculated.

In the present embodiment, the touch area is obtained by the totalnumber of sensor intersection points (of the sensors included in thetouch panel) at which a change amount of a capacitance being not lessthan a threshold has been measured. The method of determining the toucharea is not limited to the method of determining by the number of sensorintersection points touched as described above, and the size of thetouched area may be detected.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4A1, 4A2, 4B1 and 4B2, a method ofcalculating the touch area will be described. FIGS. 4A1, 4A2, 4B1 and4B2 are diagrams illustrating a calculation method of a touch area bytouch operation on the touch panel 270 a, and FIGS. 4A1 and 4A2 arediagrams illustrating cases in which the touch-on is performed with onefinger in a normal state, and FIGS. 4B1 and 4B2 are diagramsillustrating cases in which the touch-on is performed with the fingerlying down.

FIGS. 4A1 and 4B1 illustrate a condition in which the finger Y(conductive material) of the user touches the touch panel 270 a whenviewed from the side (the position of the sensor intersection pointwhere the finger is touched) and an amount of change in capacitance atthe respective coordinates. The amount of change in capacitance isdisplayed by aligning the amount of change in capacitance detected ateach sensor intersection point at Y=α in FIGS. 4A2 and 4B2 with the Xcoordinates (a1 to a10 in FIG. 4A2 and b1 to b10 in FIG. 4B2) of eachsensor intersection point. The amount of change in the capacitance isthe amount of change in capacitance at each sensor intersection pointgenerated between the finger Y and the touch panel 270 a, which is thesum of the amount of change in the capacitance detected within apredetermined period of time. The touch area is obtained by the numberof sensor intersection points where the amount of change in capacitancebeing larger than the touch area threshold is detected. It is assumedthat the sensor intersection point where the amount of change incapacitance being larger than a touch determination threshold that islarger than the touch area threshold is detected, is determined to havehad a touch operation performed on the sensor intersection point. Inthis manner, the coordinates at which the touch operation is performedand the type of the touch operation are determined. The touch area has athreshold smaller than that of the touch-down and makes it easier todetect a touch operation or the like with a weaker force. This is toprevent the touch operation from being accepted as a valid operationwith a weaker force (a weaker force such as the abdomen of the user whocarries the camera hitting) rather than the case where the userintentionally performs the touch operation with a strong force.Thresholds for determining the touch operation unintended by the userand thresholds for determining the touch operation intentionallyperformed by the user are set.

In FIGS. 4A1 and 4A2, since the change amount of the detectedcapacitance in the coordinates a1 and a6 to a10 is not less than thetouch area threshold for determining whether to include the respectivesensor intersection points in the touch area or not include in the toucharea. The coordinates a2 and a5 are included in the touch area becausethe detected change amount of the capacitance is larger than the toucharea threshold, but since the change amount is not more than the touchdetermination threshold for detecting the touch operation to each sensorintersection point, it is assumed that there is no touch operation toeach sensor intersection point. Since the detected change amount of thecapacitance is larger than the touch area threshold and the touchdetermination threshold, the coordinates a3 to a4 are included in thesensor intersection point for calculating the touch position, and it isdetermined that the touch operation to each sensor is performed.

FIGS. 4A2 and 4B2 illustrates the touch panel sensor 270 b indicatingthe sensor intersection points of the touch panel 270 a, and each sensorintersection point is replaced by one box. In FIGS. 4A1 and 4B1, thechange amount of the capacitance at the sensor intersection point of Y=αis shown. In FIGS. 4A2 and 4B2, however, the change amount of thecapacitance detected at Y=α−1 to α+2 is shown. The change amount of thecapacitance detected at the sensor intersection point of the boxes shownin black dots indicate the sensor intersection point exceeding the touchdetermination threshold, and the change amount of the capacitancedetected at the sensor intersection point of the boxes shown in diagonallines indicates the sensor intersection point exceeding the touch areathreshold.

In FIG. 4B2, there are four boxes shown in black dots, and the area (thenumber of sensor intersection points) where the touch operation isdetermined to have been performed is 4, and the coordinates determinedby the center of gravity of the four points are the coordinates of thetouch-down point. In addition, there are eight boxes shown in diagonallines, and together with four boxes shown in black dots, the number ofsensor intersection points exceeding the touch area threshold is 12, andthe touch area is 12.

In FIG. 4B2, there are eight boxes shown in black dots, and the area(the number of sensor intersection points) determined to have beentouched is 8. In addition, there are 17 boxes shown in diagonal lines,and the number of sensor intersection points exceeding the touch areathreshold is 25 together with 8 boxes shown in black dots, and the toucharea is 25.

For example, when the touch area of the threshold 1 (the number ofsensor intersection points) is 16 and the touch area of the threshold 2is 30, in the case of FIGS. 4A1 and 4A2, the threshold 1 and thethreshold 2 are not both exceeded, and the touch operation is determinedto be valid. Further, in the case of FIGS. 4B1 and 4B2, since thethreshold 1 is exceeded but the threshold 2 is not exceeded, it isdetermined that the touch operation is invalid when the threshold 1 isset, but it is determined that the touch operation is valid when thethreshold 2 is set.

Note that the calculation of the touch area may be performed by thecontrol circuit 281 of the touch panel 270 a instead of the systemcontrol unit 201. In this case, the system control unit 201 reads thetouch area calculated by the control circuit 281 of the touch panel 270a.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6A1, 6A2, 6B1, 6B2 and 7, the relationshipbetween the eye approaching state and the touch area of the presentembodiment will be described.

FIG. 6A1 illustrates the distance between the camera and the face in theeye approaching state. FIG. 6A2 illustrates the touch area in the eyeapproaching state.

In the eye approaching state, the distance between the camera and theface is short, and the touch area increases because the touch operationis performed while the finger is lying down. FIG. 6B1 illustrates thedistance between the camera and the face in the eye separation state.FIG. 6B2 illustrates the touch area in the eye separation state.

Since the distance between the camera and the face is sufficientlylarge, the touch area becomes small because the touch operation isperformed in the state in which the finger is raised. FIG. 7 illustratesexamples of the touch areas in the states of FIGS. 6A1-6A2 and FIGS.6B1-6B2.

The threshold of the touch area to be determined as the unintended touchoperation by the user in the present embodiment is set to 10 as thethreshold 1 and 30 as the threshold 2. In the cases of FIGS. 6A1 and6A2, the touch area is 25, and in the case of FIGS. 6B1 and 6B2, thetouch area is 8. That is, in the case of FIGS. 6A1 and 6A2, since thethreshold 1 is exceeded but the threshold 2 is not exceeded, it isdetermined that the touch operation is invalid when the threshold 1 isset, but it is determined that the touch operation is valid when thethreshold 2 is set. In the cases of FIGS. 6B1 and 6B2, since both thethreshold 1 and the threshold 2 are not exceeded, it is determined thatthe touch operation is valid. Since the touch operation in the eyeapproaching state is performed in a state in which the finger is laiddown more than the touch operation in the non-eye approaching state, thetouch area is easily widened and the threshold is easily exceeded.Therefore, when the threshold is small, the touch operation in the eyeapproaching state is easily determined as an invalid touch operation,and when the threshold is large, the touch operation is easilydetermined as a valid touch operation. However, in any case, if thethreshold is increased, all of the touch operations that do not exceedthe threshold are determined to be valid, and there is a possibilitythat processing by the touch operation unintended by the user isexecuted. On the other hand, when the threshold is decreased, it isdifficult to determine that the touch operation in the eye approachingstate is valid.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the touch detection processingin the shooting mode of the present embodiment will be described.

Note that the processing of FIGS. 5A and 5B is realized by expanding theprograms stored in the nonvolatile memory 256 into the system memory252, executing the programs by the system control unit 201, andcontrolling the respective components. Further, the processing of FIGS.5A and 5B is started when the power of the digital camera 100 is turnedon and the shooting mode is selected. This also applies to FIGS. 8A and8B described later.

In step S501, the system control unit 201 displays a live view image (LVimage, through-the lens image) on the backside display unit 101.

In step S502, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not atouch setting for performing a setting related to a touch operation hasbeen selected on the menu screen. The menu screen is displayed bypressing the menu button 114, and when the touch operation setting isselected on the menu screen, the touch setting can be selected. For thetouch setting, it is possible to select whether to enable AF settingchange (touch & drag AF) by the touch operation in the eye approachingstate, to set the position designation method to the absolute positiondesignation or the relative position designation, or to select where toset the touch effective area. The touch effective area can be selectedfrom all, right, left, upper right, upper left, lower right, and lowerleft (effective area setting).

In step S503, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not theAF setting change by the touch operation in the eye approaching state isenabled in the touch setting. If it is determined that the AF settingchange (touch & drag AF) by the touch manipulation in the eyeapproaching state is enabled (on), the processing proceeds to step S504,otherwise, the processing proceeds to step S505.

In step S504, the system control unit 201 enables (turns on) the AFsetting change (touch & drag AF) by the touch operation in the eyeapproaching state. When the photographer looks through the eyepiece part216, the backside display unit 101 is turned off, and while the liveview image is displayed on the in-finder display unit 229, if the AFsetting change by the touch operation in the eye approaching state isenabled, the AF position can be set by the touch operation on thebackside display unit 101 (the touch panel 270 a). Therefore, when theAF setting change by the touch operation in the eye approaching state isenabled, the user can set the AF position with good operability whilelooking through the eyepiece part 216 even when the backside displayunit 101 is the non-display state.

In step S505, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not theshooting mode is to be terminated. The shooting mode is terminated byswitching to the reproduction mode, turning off the power of the digitalcamera 100, etc. If it is determined that the shooting mode is to beterminated, the processing is ended, otherwise, the processing proceedsto step S506.

In step S506, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not theeye approach detection unit 217 of the eyepiece part 216 has detectedthe approaching of the object (the eye approaching of the user). If itis determined that the eye approach detection unit 217 has detected theapproaching of the object, the processing proceeds to step S507, and ifnot, the processing proceeds to step S515. When it is determined as NOin step S506, the display destination is switched to the backsidedisplay unit 101 when the live view image is displayed on the in-finderdisplay unit 229 (displayed in step S508 of one cycle or more earlier).The AF setting change by the touch operation in the eye approachingstate is enabled when the eye approach detection unit 217 detects thatthe user is looking through the eyepiece finder and the displaydestination is switched from the backside display unit 101 to thein-finder display unit 229.

In step S507, the system control unit 201 sets the threshold of thetouch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser to the threshold 2 (>the threshold 1).

In step S508, the system control unit 201 displays the live view imageon the in-finder display unit 229. In this case, the live view image ofthe backside display unit 101 is not displayed together with the displayof the live view image on the in-finder display unit 229, but the touchoperation can be accepted at least when the AF setting change by thetouch operation in the eye approaching state is enabled.

In step S509, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not theAF setting change by the touch operation in the eye approaching stateset in step S503 is enabled. If it is determined that the AF settingchange by the touch operation in the eye approaching state is enabled,the processing proceeds to step S510, otherwise, the processing returnsto step S502.

In step S510, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thetouch panel 270 a has been touched. If it is determined that the touchoperation has been performed, the processing proceeds to step S511,otherwise, the processing returns to step S502.

In step S511, the system control unit 201 calculates the touch area M.The touch area M is calculated by the number of sensor intersectionpoints at which the change amount of the capacitance being not less thanthe touch area threshold is detected.

In step S512, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thetouch area M calculated in step S511 is not less than the threshold tobe determined as the touch operation unintended by the user. When thesystem control unit 201 determines that the touch area M is not lessthan the threshold, the processing proceeds to step S513, and when thesystem control unit 201 determines that the touch area M is less thanthe threshold, the processing proceeds to step S514. In this case, thethreshold is the threshold 2. That is, in step S512, it is determinedwhether or not the number of sensor intersection points exceeding thetouch area threshold is more than 30 which is the value of the threshold2, and when the touch area is more than 30, the processing proceeds tostep S513, and when the touch area is 30 or less, the processingproceeds to step S514.

In step S513, the system control unit 201 executes processing ofinvalidating the touch operation detected in step S510, and returns tostep S502. That is, in step S513, since the touch area exceeds thethreshold even if the touch operation is detected, the system controlunit 201 determines that the touch operation is the touch operationunintended by the user. The system control unit 201 does not notify thecommand for executing the function or notifies that the touch operationis the touch operation unintended by the user so that the processing isnot executed by the touch operation. As long as the touch is thetouch-on, the command corresponding to the touch operation is notnotified. That is, even when the touch-up caused by releasing the touchor the drag or the flick caused by the touch-move of the touch isdetected, the function corresponding to the touch operation is notexecuted.

In step S514, the system control unit 201 executes touch pad operationprocessing by the touch detected in step S510 and the processing returnsto step S502.

In step S515, the system control unit 201 switches the displaydestination to the backside display unit 101, and sets the threshold ofthe touch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser to the threshold 1 (<the threshold 2).

In step S516, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thetouch panel 270 a has been touched. If it is determined that the touchoperation has been performed, the processing proceeds to step S517,otherwise, the processing returns to step S501.

In step S517, the system control unit 201 calculates the touch area M.

In step S518, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thetouch area M calculated in step S517 is not less than the threshold tobe determined as the touch operation unintended by the user. When thesystem control unit 201 determines that the touch area M calculated instep S517 is not less than the threshold, the processing proceeds tostep S513, and when the system control unit 201 determines that thetouch area M calculated in step S517 is less than the threshold, theprocessing proceeds to step S519. The threshold in this case is thethreshold 1. That is, in step S518, it is determined whether or not thenumber of sensor intersection points exceeding the touch area thresholdis more than 10 which is the value of the threshold 1, and when thetouch area is more than 10, the processing proceeds to step S513, andwhen the touch area is 10 or less, the processing proceeds to step S519.

In step S519, the system control unit 201 executes touch operationprocessing by the touch operation detected in step S516 and theprocessing returns to step S501.

Note that during the eye approaching, the threshold of the touch areamay not be set, and control may be performed such that the touchoperation is not invalidated. Further, the setting threshold is notlimited to the above-described example, it may be arbitrarily set by theuser.

According to the present embodiment, by changing the threshold of thetouch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser in accordance with whether or not it is the eye approaching state,it is possible to reduce the possibility of executing the processing bythe touch operation unintended by the user while suppressing thedeterioration of the operability of the camera.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment will be described.

In the second embodiment, the threshold of the touch area to bedetermined as the touch operation unintended by the user is changedaccording to the distance (eye approaching distance) to the finderdetected by the eye approach detection unit 217.

Hereinafter, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainlydescribed. The apparatus configuration is the same as that of the firstembodiment.

First, with reference to FIGS. 9A1, 9B1, 9C1, 9A2, 9B2, 9C2, 10 and 11,the relationship of the touch area according to the eye approachingdistances of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9A1 illustrates the eye approaching distance from the camera to theface in the state in which the eye fully contacts the eyepiece part 216.FIG. 9A2 illustrates the touch area in which the eye fully contacts theeyepiece part 216. Since the eye fully contacts the eyepiece part 216,the eye approaching distance is very short, and the touch area becomeslarge because the touch operation is performed in the state in which thefinger is lying down. FIG. 9C1 illustrates the eye approaching distancesfrom the camera to the face in the eye separation state. FIG. 9C2illustrates the touch area in the eye separation state, and since theeye approaching distance is sufficiently long, the touch operation isperformed in the state in which the finger is raised, thereby making thetouch area small. FIG. 9B1 illustrates the distance from the camera tothe face slightly away from the eyepiece part 216, and this distancerelationship is also applied when wearing an eyeglasses. FIG. 9B2illustrates the touch area slightly away from the eyepiece part 216.Since the eye approaching distance is longer than the eye approachingdistance in the state in which the eye fully contacts the eyepiece part216 in FIGS. 9C1 and 9C2, and there is a space to touch in the state inwhich the finger is raised a little, the touch area is an area betweenFIGS. 9A2 and 9C2.

FIG. 10 illustrates examples of the touch areas in FIGS. 9A1, 9B1, 9C1,9A2, 9B2 and 9C2. The threshold of the touch area to be determined asthe touch operation unintended by the user in the present embodiment isset to 10, 30, and 20, as the threshold 1, the threshold 2, and thethreshold 3, respectively. In the cases of FIGS. 9A1 and 9A2, the toucharea becomes 25, in the cases of FIGS. 9B1 and 9B2, the touch areabecomes 16, and in the cases of FIGS. 9C1 and 9C2, the touch areabecomes 8. That is, in the cases of FIGS. 9A1 and 9A2, since thethreshold 1 and the threshold 3 are exceeded but the threshold 2 is notexceeded, the touch operation is determined to be invalid when thethreshold 1 and the threshold 3 are set, but the touch operation isdetermined to be valid when the threshold 2 is set. In the cases ofFIGS. 9B1 and 9B2, since the threshold 1 is exceeded but the threshold 2and the threshold 3 are not exceeded, the touch operation is determinedto be invalid when the threshold 1 is set, but the touch operation isdetermined to be valid when the threshold 2 and the threshold 3 are set.In the cases of FIGS. 9C1 and 9C2, all of the threshold 1, the threshold2, and the threshold 3 are not exceeded, and the touch operation isdetermined to be valid. Since the shorter the eye approaching distanceis, the more the touch operation is performed in the state in which thefinger to be touched is laid down, the touch area is likely to bewidened, and the threshold is likely to be exceeded when the thresholdis set. Therefore, the shorter the eye approaching distance, the smallerthe threshold, the easier the touch operation is determined as theinvalid touch operation, and on the contrary, the larger the threshold,the easier the touch operation is determined as the valid touchoperation. However, in any case, if the threshold is increased, all ofthe touch operations that do not exceed the threshold are determined tobe valid, and there is a possibility that the processing by the touchoperation unintended by the user is executed. On the other hand, whenthe threshold is decreased, the shorter the eye approaching distance,the more difficult the touch operation is determined as the valid touchoperation.

FIG. 11 illustrates the thresholds of the touch areas to be determinedas the touch operation unintended by the user in the eye approachingstate of FIGS. 9A1, 9B1, 9C1, 9A2, 9B2 and 9C2 in a mode in which adetection sensitivity of a touch operation that is not directly touchedby a finger is increased, for example, a mode in which a touch operationis enabled in a state in which a glove is worn. In such a mode, thevalues of the threshold 1, the threshold 2, and the threshold 3 arechanged to be larger than those in the normal mode. For example, thethreshold 1 is changed from 10 to 15, the threshold 2 is changed from 20to 25, and the threshold 3 is changed from 30 to 35.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the touch detection processingin the shooting mode of the present embodiment will be described.

In FIGS. 8A and 8B, the same reference numerals are assigned to the sameprocessing as those in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and the processing of steps S801to S804 are different from those in FIG. 5A.

If it is determined in step S505 that the shooting mode processing hasnot been completed, the processing proceeds to step S801.

In step S801, the system control unit 201 determines the eye approachingdistance detected by the eye approach detection unit 217. If the eyeapproaching distance is not more than the second distance, theprocessing proceeds to step S802. The second distance is, for example,less than 2 cm, which corresponds to FIG. 9A1. If the eye approachingdistance is longer than the first distance that is longer than thesecond distance, the processing proceeds to step S804. The firstdistance is, for example, 10 cm or more, which corresponds to FIG. 9C1.If the eye approaching distance is a third distance between the firstdistance and the second distance, the processing proceeds to step S803.The third distance is, for example, 2 cm or more and less than 10 cm,which corresponds to FIGS. 9C1 and 9C2. In the case of steps S802 andS803, when the live view image is displayed on the in-finder displayunit 229 (displayed in step S508 of one cycle or more earlier), thedisplay destination is switched to the backside display unit 101. The AFsetting change by the touch operation in the eye approaching state isenabled when the eye approach detection unit 217 detects that the useris looking through the finder and switches the display destination fromthe backside display unit 101 to the in-finder display unit 229.

In step S802, the system control unit 201 sets the threshold of thetouch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser to the threshold 2.

In step S803, the system control unit 201 sets the threshold of thetouch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser to the threshold 3.

In step S804, the system control unit 201 switches the displaydestination to the backside display unit 101, and sets the threshold ofthe touch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser to the threshold 1.

Note that during the eye approaching, the threshold of the touch areamay not be set, and control may be performed such that the touchoperation is not invalidated. In the present embodiment, the thresholdis set to three levels, but the threshold may be set to any number oflevels. The threshold and the eye approaching distance are not limitedto the above-described examples, and may be arbitrarily set by the user.

According to the present embodiment, by changing the threshold of thetouch area to be determined as the touch operation unintended by theuser in accordance with the eye approaching distance, it is possible toreduce the possibility of executing the processing by the touchoperation unintended by the user while suppressing the deterioration ofthe operability of the camera.

Note that the foregoing various control described as something that thesystem control unit 201 performs may be performed by one piece ofhardware, and a plurality of pieces of hardware (for example, aplurality of processor and/or circuit) may distribute processing toperform control of the entirety of the apparatus.

In addition, although the present invention was explained in detailbased on suitable embodiments, the present invention is not limited tothese specific embodiments, and various forms of a scope that does notdeviate from the gist of this invention are included in the invention.Furthermore, the above-described embodiment is merely one embodiment ofthe present invention, and different embodiments can be combined asappropriate.

The foregoing embodiment describes an example of a case where thepresent invention is applied in a single-lens reflex digital camera.However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Thepresent invention can be applied to an apparatus having a touch & dragfunction in an eye approaching state. That is, the present invention canbe applied in personal computers, PDAs, mobile phone terminals, smartphones which are a type of mobile phone terminals, tablet terminals,portable image viewers, digital photo frames, music players, gamedevices, e-book readers or other household apparatuses, vehicle-mountedapparatuses, medical equipment, electronic binoculars, or the like,which can perform shooting by attaching an external finder.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the camera body and isalso applicable to a control device for communicating with a camera(including a network camera) via a wired or wireless communication andremotely controlling the camera. Apparatuses such as a smartphone, whichis a type of mobile phone, a tablet PC, a desktop PC, or the like can begiven as examples of control apparatuses that remotely control an imagecapture apparatus. The image capture apparatus can be controlledremotely by the control apparatus communicating commands for carryingout various types of operations, settings to the image captureapparatus, and/or the like on the basis of operations made in thecontrol apparatus, processes carried out by the control apparatus, andthe like. Additionally, a live view image shot by the image captureapparatus may be received by the control apparatus through wired orwireless communication and displayed.

Other Embodiment

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2020-041216, filed Mar. 10, 2020 which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image capture apparatus comprising: anapproach detection sensor configured to detect an eye approaching to afinder; a touch panel configured to detect a touch operation on a touchoperation surface provided outside the finder; and a memory and at leastone processor which function as: a control unit configured to calculatean amount of a touch area indicating a contact area with the touch panelin the touch operation and control whether to validate the touchoperation based on the calculated amount of the touch area, wherein thecontrol unit controls such that: when the eye approaching to the finderis not made, a touch operation with a calculated amount of a touch areathat is less than a first threshold on the touch operation surface isvalidated, and a touch operation with a calculated amount of a toucharea that is not less than the first threshold on the touch operationsurface is invalidated, and when the eye approaching to the finder ismade, the touch operation with the calculated amount of the touch areathat is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surfaceis validated.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlunit controls such that when the approaching to the finder is made, atouch operation with a calculated amount of a touch area that is lessthan a second threshold that is larger than the first threshold to thetouch operation surface is validated, and a touch operation with acalculated amount of a touch area that is not less than the secondthreshold to the touch operation surface is invalidated.
 3. Theapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the approach detection sensor iscapable of detecting the eye approaching distance to the finder, whenthe eye approaching distance is longer than a first distance, thecontrol unit sets a threshold to the first threshold, when the eyeapproaching distance is a second distance or less that is shorter thanthe first distance, the control unit sets the threshold to the secondthreshold, and when the eye approaching distance is between the firstdistance and the second distance, the control unit sets the threshold toa third threshold that is larger than the first threshold and less thanthe second threshold, and invalidates the touch operation with thecalculated amount of the touch area that is not less than the setthreshold.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in a mode inwhich a detection sensitivity of the touch operation is increased,values of the first threshold, the second threshold and the thirdthreshold are changed to be larger than the thresholds when the imagecapture apparatus is not in the mode.
 5. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the control unit controls such that when theapproaching to the finder is made, the invalidation of the touchoperation based on the calculated amount of the touch area of the touchoperation on the touch operation surface is not performed.
 6. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch operation surface is adisplay surface capable of displaying a captured image.
 7. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes predeterminedprocessing in accordance with a valid touch operation regardless of anapproaching state or a non-approaching state.
 8. The apparatus accordingto claim 7, wherein the predetermined processing is processing fordetermining a focus adjustment position or a tracking target position.9. The image capture apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit isconfigured to, when the approaching to the finder is made, validate thetouch operation on any portion of the touch panel when the calculatedamount of the touch area of the touch operation is less than the firstthreshold.
 10. The image capture apparatus of claim 1, wherein theamount of the touch area is calculated based on a number of sensorintersection points associated with the touch panel where an amount ofchange in capacitance is detected.
 11. A method of controlling an imagecapture apparatus having an approach detection sensor configured todetect an eye approaching to a finder, and a touch panel configured todetect a touch operation on a touch operation surface provided outsidethe finder, the method comprising: performing control to calculate anamount of a touch area indicating a contact area with the touch panel inthe touch operation, and to determine whether to validate the touchoperation based on the calculated amount of the touch area, and tocontrol such that when the eye approaching to the finder is not made, atouch operation with a calculated amount of the touch area that is lessthan a first threshold on the touch operation surface is validated, anda touch operation with a calculated amount of the touch area that is notless than the first threshold on the touch operation surface isinvalidated, and when the eye approaching to the finder is made, thetouch operation with the calculated amount of the touch area that is notless than the first threshold on the touch operation surface isvalidated.
 12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storinga program for causing a computer to function as the following units ofan image capture apparatus, wherein an approach detection sensor isconfigured to detect an eye approaching to a finder, a touch panel isconfigured to detect a touch operation on a touch operation surfaceprovided outside the finder, and a control unit is configured to performcontrol to calculate an amount of a touch area indicating a contact areawith the touch panel in the touch operation, to determine whether tovalidate the touch operation based on the calculated amount of the toucharea, and to control such that when the eye approaching to the finder isnot made, a touch operation with a calculated amount of a touch areathat is less than a first threshold on the touch operation surface isvalidated, and a touch operation with a calculated amount of a toucharea that is not less than the first threshold on the touch operationsurface is invalidated, and when the eye approaching to the finder ismade, the touch operation with the calculated amount of the touch areathat is not less than the first threshold on the touch operation surfaceis validated.